Side Dishes

• 4 Comments

• Slow Cooker Loaded Baked Potato

  Recipe for Slow Cooker Baked Potato.

  

  These slow cooker baked potatoes are one of my favourite lunch meals (they would also make a great side dish at dinnertime). When potatoes are cooked in the slower cooker, they end up with somewhat of a “creamy” texture. They are very fluffy, too. Delicious!

  Slow Cooker Loaded Baked Potato

  ---

  • Servings: 4

  Ingredients:

  • 4 Russet Potatoes
  • Toppings of your choice (cheese, tomatoes, green onions, bacon)

  Instructions:

  1. Wash and dry your potatoes. Poke each potato a few times and then wrap in aluminum foil and place in the slow cooker.
  2. Cook on low for about 7 hours, or until soft enough to poke a knife through them.
  3. Slice open (careful, they’re hot!) and fill with your favourite toppings. I love cheddar cheese, tomatoes, green onions, bacon and sour cream.

  GD Star Rating
  loading...
• 5 Comments

• How to Cook Brown Rice Perfectly Every Time

  Brown Rice Recipe.

  

  The very first time I made brown rice (a few years ago), it turned into a big, gross, gloopy mess. The second time, it was so overcooked that it was inedible. After that experience, I threw out the rest of the bag. I gave up on brown rice.

  It wasn’t until last year when I started to transition to more healthful foods that I considered brown rice again. I found this fabulous tutorial from one of my favourite food blogs, Skinnytaste, that taught me how to cook brown rice. I am now able to make perfect brown rice whenever I want it. Thanks, Gina!

  Perfect Brown Rice

  ---

  • Servings: 3 Cups

  Ingredients:

  • 1 Cup Brown Rice
  • 8 Cups Cold Water
  • 1 1/2 Teaspoons Salt

  Instructions:

  1. Rinse the rice in cold water and set aside. Boil the water over high heat and once boiling, add salt and rice.

  

  2. Stir and cover the pot, but only partially (otherwise the water will spill over). Turn the heat down to medium and cook for 30 minutes. Turn off the heat.

  

  3. Drain the rice in a mesh strainer and immediately return to pot. Cover and let stand for 20 minutes.

  

  

  4. Fluff with a fork and you’re done!

  GD Star Rating
  loading...
• Leave a Comment

• Oven Roasted Cauliflower

  Recipe for Roasted Cauliflower.

  

  Oven Roasted Cauliflower

  ---

  • Servings: 4-5

  Ingredients:

  • 1 Head of Cauliflower, Chopped into bite-sized pieces
  • 2 Tablespoons Oil
  • 1 Teaspoon Salt
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Pepper
  • 1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese (Optional)

  Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400F.
  2. Combine cauliflower, oil, salt and pepper on a baking tray. Mix well so that all ingredients are evenly distributed.
  3. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until cauliflower is tender and browned.
  4. If desired, sprinkle cauliflower with parmesan cheese and cook for a few minutes more, or until cheese has melted.

  GD Star Rating
  loading...
• Leave a Comment

• Easy Cheesy Garlic Bread Recipe

  

  Easy Cheesy Garlic Bread

  ---

  • Servings: 12+

  Ingredients:

  • 1 Fresh Loaf of French or Italian Bread
  • 1/2 Cup Mozzarella Cheese
  • 1/2 Cup Cheddar Cheese
  • 1/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese
  • 4 Garlic Cloves, Minced
  • 1/4 Cup Butter, Melted
  • 1 Teaspoon Pepper

  Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 375F. Cut bread loaf into serving sizes (about 24 pieces, if you’re making them the size as seen in the photo above).
  2. Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl. Make sure everything is mixed very well, almost to the point where the mixture becomes paste-like. Add more melted butter, if necessary.
  3. Spread mixture onto bread and place on a baking sheet.
  4. Cook for 10-15 minutes, or until cheese has melted and edges of the bread have browned.

  GD Star Rating
  loading...
• 6 Comments

• Greek Quinoa Salad Recipe

  

  Greek Quinoa Salad

  ---

  • Servings: 4

  Ingredients:

  • 1 Cup Quinoa, Cooked
  • 1/2 Seedless Cucumber, Chopped
  • 1/2 Cup Cherry Tomatoes, Sliced in Half
  • 2 Teaspoons Basil
  • 1 Tablespoon Fresh Mint, Minced
  • 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
  • 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
  • Salt & Pepper, to Taste
  • 1/2 Cup Feta Cheese, Crumbled

  Instructions:

  1. Add all ingredients to a large bowl.
  2. Set aside for 10-15 minutes, to allow the flavours to combine.

  GD Star Rating
  loading...
• Leave a Comment

• Perfect Mashed Potatoes Recipe

  

  Perfect Mashed Potatoes Recipe

  ---

  • Makes 4-6 servings.

  Ingredients:

  • 4-5 Medium Yukon Gold Potatoes, Peeled & Chopped
  • 3 Tablespoons Heavy Cream
  • 2 Tablespoons Milk
  • 2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
  • Salt & Pepper
  • 1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder (Optional)

  Instructions:

  1. Boil potatoes in a large pot until cooked through, about 15-20 minutes. Drain and set aside in a large bowl.
  2. Warm cream, milk and butter in a microwave and then add to boiled potatoes. Mash with a potato masher. (Alternatively, you can put your potatoes through a potato ricer first, then add cream, milk and butter, and mix it all together.) Do not overmix.
  3. Serve warm.

  GD Star Rating
  loading...
• 6 Comments

• Spicy Chicken-Stuffed Sweet Potatoes Recipe

  

  Spicy Chicken-Stuffed Sweet Potatoes Recipe

  ---

  • Makes 6 servings.

  Ingredients:

  • 4 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
  • 6 Sweet Potatoes
  • Olive Oil
  • Salt & Pepper
  • 1 Bottle Barbecue Sauce
  • 2 Teaspoons Hot Sauce
  • 1/2 Cup Cheddar or Mozzarella Cheese, Shredded

  Instructions:

  1. Cook and shred chicken breasts (I grilled them, but you could also bake them or put them in the slow cooker). Add barbecue sauce and hot sauce to shredded chicken and mix well. Set aside.
  2. Preheat oven to 375F. Add sweet potatoes to a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt & pepper. When oven is heated, cook sweet potatoes until tender (about 45 minutes). Set aside to cool.
  3. Cut each sweet potato in half, scoop out the insides, and put them into a large bowl.
  4. Mix sweet potatoes with chicken mixture and scoop into sweet potato skins. Top with shredded cheese and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

  GD Star Rating
  loading...
• 18 Comments

• How Anna Olson Saved my Mashed Potatoes

  

  I’m a big fan of mashed potatoes. Actually, I’m pretty much a big fan of potato anything!

  I remember watching my mom and grandmother make mashed potatoes during family dinners and holidays. They’d bring out the hand mixer, and to the potatoes add some milk, butter and herbs. Then, they’d whip those potatoes and serve them for dinner.

  From what I can remember, those mashed potatoes were good, but they weren’t actually mashed. They were whipped. When you whip potatoes with a hand mixer, starch is released, and that can make then end up a big gloopy mess. Bad, bad, bad.

  When I got a place of my own, I vowed to never use a hand mixer on my potatoes and instead bought a potato masher.

  That worked, but I could never actually get my potatoes to be fluffy and lump-free.

  Then, one day I was watching Anna Olson on TV and she was making mashed potatoes. She was using something that I’d never heard of – a potato ricer (similar to a garlic press, but much larger).

  You put chunks of boiled potato into the ricer and press… and out come perfectly mashed potatoes with no lumps! I immediately ordered one from Amazon and it was delivered a few days later.

  

  

  I made mashed potatoes for dinner that might and put the boiled potatoes through the potato ricer. I then added some milk, butter and herbs and mixed it all together with a large spoon. It worked! No lumps and no big, goopy mess. I now use this tool every single time I make mashed potatoes.

  Perfect mashed potatoes every time.

  

  Thank you, Anna Olson!

  GD Star Rating
  loading...